Ice Cube gets his name on the Goodyear blimp in Carson for charity

Actor/rapper Ice Cube visited the Goodyear Airship Operations airfield in Carson Monday to add support to a charity effort for A Place Called Home, a local non-profit group that helps kids stay in school and prosper. A $25,000 check was presented to the group. Ice Cube's name was placed in lights on the blimp, recalling lyrics to one of his songs. (Brad Graverson / Staff Photographer)

Actor/rapper Ice Cube visited the Goodyear Airship Operations airfield in Carson Monday to add support to a charity effort for A Place Called Home, a local non-profit group that helps kids stay in school and prosper. Here, he signs autographs for some of the kids. A $25,000 check was presented to the group. Ice Cube's name was placed in lights on the blimp, recalling lyrics to one of his songs. (Brad Graverson / Staff Photographer)

Ice Cube saw the lights of the Goodyear blimp on Monday, and they read: “Ice Cube says: Today is a Good Day.”

Really.

The rapper-turned-actor finally got his name on the blimp, nearly 20 years to the day after his hit song, “Today Was a Good Day,” was released. But the message was edited for the general public. The original lyric reads: “Even saw the lights of the Goodyear Blimp. And it read: ‘Ice Cube’s a pimp.’”

A group of young men in New York City began an online campaign just two weeks ago to pressure Goodyear to scrawl the original lyric on one of its ships. The company ultimately agreed on displaying the edited version if the campaign raised $25,000 for the South Los Angeles nonprofit organization A Place Called Home.

The end result, Ice Cube said on Monday as the ship took flight with his name on it, was “cool.”

“In doing this song, I never thought my name would be on the blimp ever,” Ice Cube said. “So, just on the cool tip, it’s cool for me and it’s great to be able to do something for A Place Called Home.”